


History, huh?

by greeny1710



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gun Violence, Hospitals, I basically spent too much time watching the Crown and the Bodyguard, I have no regrets this was way too much fun, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 08:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20775515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeny1710/pseuds/greeny1710
Summary: Max is the Prince of Belgium.Dan is his head of Security.They really needed to learn to talk to each other.Please take note of the tags, there's a few mentions of heavy shit that could be triggering for some and I always want you to take care of yourself<3





	History, huh?

**Author's Note:**

> So basically I watched the Crown and The Bodyguard (both A+ shows, would recommend even just for the aesthetics) and I also read Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (AGAIN A+ BOOK, WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF YOU WANT A GOOD AND HOPEFUL POLITICS AND ROYALTY BOYS LOVING BOYS ROMANCE) and I've been writing this story for fucking ever and I love it. 
> 
> There is a bit about gun violence and getting shot, and this does lead to a hospital scene, but everything works out okay, so please do bear that in mind if this is content that is not safe for you, head on out and take care of yourself <3
> 
> This also plays around with who drives where, because I couldn't think of who to put where instead lol
> 
> Google translated Dutch at the bottom of the fic
> 
> I don't actually really know anything about Belgium royal families, so there is all just fun, please enjoy x

Becoming the head of security for the Prince of the Belgium was not what Daniel would’ve guessed as the course for his life if you’d have asked him when he was a little boy. Back then, he’d wanted to be a race car driver, chasing glory, chasing people, finding that thrill from cars that seemed unable to go any slower than 200mph. Instead, a gap year from university and an unfulfilled racing dream had led Daniel to touring Europe, ultimately being in the right place at the right time to be picked up by someone and in a turn of events that Dan still didn’t quite know how it had happened, had landed a job working under the (at the time, incredibly young) Prince’s security team, right at the bottom of the food chain. And here he was, nearly eight years later, the Prince having grown up before Dan’s eyes, changing from that thirteen year old child, to a man of twenty-one, and he was left to argue with the Prince nearly every day regarding the necessary security procedures he needed to take in order for the Prince to be kept safe. 

“With all due respect, Your Highness, no,” Dan informed the Prince, never once taking his eyes away from the crowds as the car pulled to a stop, as they argued over something Dan hadn’t really put the energy into listening to. 

A look in the rear-view mirror told Dan that the Prince was pouting, his arms crossed across his chest and refusing to back down. 

“You don’t have the authority-”

“Actually sir, I have all the authority regarding your personal safety.”

The Prince rolled his eyes, before continuing.

“This was a prearranged visit. Are you saying that the necessary security checks and procedures have not been followed to ensure this visit goes as planned?”

“No, Your Highness, they have been followed to the letter. But we are currently not in a position that allows you to be safe, nor does it allow us to follow the necessary procedures to keep you safe, Sir.”

“Come on, the one time I actually want to do press and you’re stopping me!” The Prince whined. Honest to God whined. Sometimes Dan forgot just how young the Prince was, regardless of his ridiculously childish behaviour at times.

“And you will carry it out, Sir, just not at this present moment.”

The Prince pouted even harder and slunk down in his seat. Dan watched as the Prince’s advisor twitched in their seat, wanting to tell the Prince to sit up to avoid wrinkling the white shirt he’d been dressed in, but Dan knew they wouldn’t. The advisor was a new appointment and clearly not used to the Prince’s dramatics, but had probably heard about the fiery temper the Prince would sometimes display. 

“Your advisor is getting twitchy, Sir, think they want you to sit up straight like the good little boy you’re meant to be,” Dan grinned at the Prince in the mirror. The advisor immediately went wide-eyed and stared at Dan. It occurred to Dan that the advisor mustn’t be used to the occasional banter between the Prince and his security yet. 

The Prince leant forward in his seat and punched Dan on his upper arm. Dan laughed as the Prince sat back, finally not pouting anymore, but seemingly resigned to letting Dan do his job.

“How much longer do we have to stay here?” The Prince asked, finally dragging his phone out of his pocket and just spinning it around between his fingers. His nervous habit, Dan noted. 

“Not much longer, your Highness.”

The Prince nodded, and rested his head against the window of the car. Dan took one last look at the Prince, before averting his eyes back out to the crowds. Slowly, the crowds were dissipating and the car was back to moving. The Prince didn’t look up, just trusting Dan and his driver to make the best decisions. 

“Ready when you are, Sir.”

The Prince looked up suddenly, his eyes going bright and the mouth spreading into a grin. The Prince bounced slightly in his seat as he took in the sight before him. 

“Can we go? Now? I’m ready.”

Daniel nodded, 

“One moment, Sir.”

Dan climbed out of the car, 

“CP on the move,” He murmured into his comms before he opened the Prince’s door, “After you, Sir.”

The Prince climbed out of the car, smoothing down his shirt as Dan shut the door behind him. The Prince looked around with wide eyes, taking in as much as he could whilst also not straying from Daniel’s side. 

“This is your ends, right?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Did you ever come here, growing up?”

“As often as my parents could afford, Sir.”

The Prince nodded,

“Which way?”

Daniel motioned forward, keeping a hand on the small of the Prince’s back. The Prince walked forward, his aide by his side and Daniel following up the rear. Whilst he never strayed more than a couple of inches from The Prince’s side as they followed the rest of his security, Daniel’s eyes were sweeping around the paddock, looking out for anyone or anything that could be deemed a threat. 

The Prince had requested that he attend the first race of the Formula One season, meaning Daniel had to get the Prince through the biggest media circus, and through to the Red Bull garage who were hosting the Prince that weekend. 

“CP to zone 2, alpha-zero receiving?” Dan murmured into his comms. 

“Alpha-zero receiving, en route.”

“Follow through to the garage, your Highness,” Dan leant into the Prince and motioned slightly with his hand for the Prince to keep going forward.

“Follow through sounds dirty,” the Prince told him without moving his lips.

Dan’s lips quirked slightly, but remained fairly stoic in the face of it.

“Not the dirtiest thing I could say to you, Sir, that would be some of my nights out.”

The Prince laughed at that, and Daniel noticed that there was a photographer around that seemed to be taking notice of the Prince. Daniel kept one eye on the photographer and the other on the Prince. Luckily, it was the only interaction they had as alpha-zero managed to keep the path clear so that Dan could get the Prince through to the garage. 

“Wait here a moment, Sir.”

Daniel left the Prince with his aide and with the other security as he did a quick sweep of the garage. Daniel made a mental note of every person there, who was doing what, who was standing where and what posed a potential risk or threat to the Prince. With Daniel satisfied that nothing or nobody seemed overtly likely to cause damage to the Prince, he returned to the Prince’s side and nodded at the aide. 

“All clear, Sir, enjoy.”

The Prince’s eyes lit up as he fell into what Dan called ‘real Max’, all thoughts of being the future king of Belgium pushed away as his behaviour swapped to being the boy that was obsessed with cars. There was still an element of The Prince there, but Daniel noticed that he was always more relaxed and open when ‘real Max’ came out. The Prince moved to converse with the drivers, chatting away about the cars and what was to be expected from the weekend. 

“You must be our good luck charm, Your Highness. First drive with the car and I’m on pole? Definitely your influence, Sir,” one of the drivers, Charles, Dan remembered his name was, told the Prince, making the Prince laugh as the driver winked at him. 

Daniel watched the Prince huddle closer to Charles, the two of them looking at some data and their hands brushing whenever they got close enough to pour over some data together. The Prince had studied and was due to graduate in the summer with a degree in mechanical engineering (Dan would know – he’d spent a long time having to figure out the security for getting the Prince around a university campus and into lectures without losing him) and so Dan knew that the Prince was aware of just what it was he was looking at. Yet somehow, he seemed to forget all that in the face of a pretty boy telling him things, pointing out just how little the driver needed to change parts of his car or speed to get the differences in times. But the Prince knew all that. He just seemed to conveniently forget when faced with Charles Leclerc. 

Not that Daniel was bitter or anything. He just hated that the Prince seemed forced to put on an act just to appease others. 

“Sir, the race will be starting soon. We have to move forth to our box,” Daniel interrupted the two men, whose heads seemed to be getting closer and closer to each other with every passing second. 

The Prince almost jumped in surprise at Dan’s voice, but his years of training meant he just moved his head a little sharper than he normally would. 

“Of course,” The Prince nodded, “I will see you after the race, Charles. Good luck, I expect great things.”

Charles smiled coyly back at the Prince, nodded and then flicked his eyes up to look at Dan briefly. Dan stared back, a blank look on his face as he moved forward to escort the Prince out of the garage, and ultimately away from Charles Leclerc. But again, Dan wasn’t bitter. He was just trying to keep his charge safe and do his job. When Charles looked away, Dan did allow himself to glare slightly. He was allowed.

“Thank you, your Highness, enjoy the race,” Charles replied. The Prince watched Charles walk over to his car, exchange a few words with his engineer and then dived out of the garage, clearly heading for the grid. 

“This way, Sir,” Dan murmured, pressing his palm into the small of the Prince’s back and gently guiding him out of the back route of the garage. 

“He was nice, wasn’t he? Very young, mind.”

Daniel hummed a response, knowing that the Prince wouldn’t think to question his lack of verbal response as he’d assume Dan was busy keeping an eye on his safety. Instead Dan just wouldn’t offer a verbal response because he doubted he’d be able to keep the bitter tone out of his voice. The two of them followed up the other security and entered the royal box that the Prince would be staying in for the race. With the Prince settled in his box, Daniel took the moment to do a sweep of the room. He knew that the security had already been through the box with a fine-tooth comb, ensuring that nothing or no one that had had access could potentially run a risk of hurting the Prince, and Dan did trust them. He did. He just needed to check himself. 

“You can calm down, you don’t need to go full sniffer dog all the time,” the Prince told Dan. 

Dan noticed when he looked over at the Prince that he was shuffling on his feet, looking down at the ground and had his arms wrapped around his waist. 

“Sorry Sir, just a precaution.”

“I really fucking hate this,” the Prince whispered, his jovial attitude gone, “I hate that you have to do this, why can’t I just be normal?”

Daniel didn’t have an answer for the Prince. Instead he just smiled gently at him.

“You’re going to miss the start, Sir.”

The Prince looked up at Dan, noticed how many people were also in the room, took a deep breath and spun around, pressing his hands against the bar of the window. 

“Come watch, Dan.”

Daniel stepped up beside the Prince. He stood close enough that if Dan moved his pinkie finger slightly it would brush against the Prince’s. 

“I wish I could do that. I used to race karts round home with Vic, drove the parents mental but we had fun. I miss having fun,” the Prince told Dan. He had a wishful look on his face as he watched the cars come back from their formation lap, his eyes glued to where Charles was on pole. 

“I’ll have a word with your team, Sir, see if we can set up some youth charity karting event for you to oversee. As long as-”

“As long as I’m wrapped up in bubble wrap to ensure I don’t get even touched by some five-year-old driving a kart that barely goes faster than 20 miles per hour I’ll be allowed to go,” the Prince spit out, the bitter tone getting harsher with every word. 

“I’m sorry, Sir. It’s ju-”

“Just protocol, I know. It’s always just protocol.”

Dan stared at the young Prince. He’d heard him get angry and angsty to members of his staff before, but it had never been properly aimed at Dan. Yes, they’d argued, but it had never been with the venomous tone in the Prince’s voice. And surprisingly, it actually really hurt Dan. 

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“I don’t want your fucking apology.”

Dan stepped away from the Prince’s side at that point, leaving him to stew in his anger and ultimately calm down. The Prince never did well when crowded even by a single person when he was angry. 

For the rest of the race, Dan sat back. He watched the race on one of the many tv’s in the box, whilst the Prince never seemed to move from his spot against the window. Normally the Prince being in front of a window for so long would make Daniel nervous, but the windows were made of a special bullet-resistant polycarbonate thermoplastic resin, powerful enough to stop even the strongest of sniper-shots. Upon the end of the race, ultimately Charles won, the Prince turned under the guise of heading down to the Red Bull garage to congratulate the racer. 

“One moment, Sir.”

The Prince rolled his eyes as Dan and the rest of the security team went about their procedures. 

“All clear, Sir.”

The Prince walked ahead, moving further from Dan’s side with every step. Whenever Dan tried to get a grip on the Prince’s elbow, he would move just slightly.

“Sir, with all due respect, you’re acting like a grade-A prick,” Dan whispered to the Prince. 

The Prince stiffened upon hearing the words.

“_With all due respect_, Daniel, I don’t care,” he hissed back, not bothering to stay at Dan’s side. 

Instead he walked off, ducking into the garage and walking over to Charles’s side of the garage. But instead of stopping like Dan expected, the Prince kept walking. Out into the open. Where the security was not yet ready. And there was a lot of people out there.

“Sir! Sir, stop!” Dan shouted at the Prince, but he barely spared a glance over his shoulder before he started to pick up the pace. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Dan hissed, trying to dive between personnel and journalists, fans and other drivers, trying to get close to the Prince. 

Dan forgot just how slippery of a bastard the Prince could be. 

It was just as they got to the barriers that Dan saw it. 

“GET THE CP, GET HIM DOWN NOW!” Dan screamed into his comms, running faster than he ever had as he leaped over the barriers and towards the man pointing a gun at Max. 

Max had heard Dan’s scream. He’d been pushed into where the drivers were interviewed, chatting harmlessly with Charles and congratulating him for his win, when Dan’s shout was heard. Dan’s voice was one of the most calming sounds Max had ever head, but now, in this situation, Max was terrified. 

Max froze as he looked over Charles shoulder. He, too, had seen the gun, had seen the look of pure hatred in the man’s eyes, had completely lost the ability to breath as his life seemed to flash before his eyes. 

He hadn’t had the chance to graduate yet. 

He hadn’t had the chance to watch Vic walk down the aisle. 

He hadn’t had the chance to apologise to Dan for his behaviour. 

He hadn’t had the chance to tell Dan he appreciated him. 

He hadn’t had the chance to tell Dan he loved him. 

A loud bang echoed, making everyone scream and run. Charles had pushed Max and himself to the floor the instant the noise had occurred, only for Max to be picked up and dragged to safety by his security team. 

“Sir! Sir, are you hit?”

Someone hit Max a couple of times in the face, his unfocussed eyes devoid of anything. 

“SIR!” 

Max minutely shook his head, 

“No.”

And then it hit him.

“Where’s Dan? Where is he?!”

Max shot out of his security’s hold, trying to find Daniel. 

“Sir, the threat hasn’t been neutralised!”

“I don’t care! Where is he?!” Max screamed, fighting hard against the hands on his arms and shoulders, trying to wiggle away. 

By sheer will and determinism, Max managed to finagle his way out of their hold and sprinted out of the little hole they’d pulled him into. 

“Dan!” Max’s shout echoed through the pit lane, his eyes locked on his head of security lying on the floor, a pool of blood around him.

Dan’s eyes were closed. 

His chest wasn’t moving. 

“Sir, you can’t go to him!”

Max ripped the hands off him that had got hold of him again and dropped to his knees beside Dan, pressing his shaking fingers against the normally warm skin of Dan’s body. His knees burned from the fall, his hands were scrapped up and he probably had bruises all over his body from where he’d been pushed and held, but none of that mattered. Nothing mattered anymore if Dan didn’t open his eyes. 

“Dan! Open your eyes, come on, for me, open them!”

Max saw that Dan was bleeding from a head wound, probably a bullet hitting his left temple and nicking the top of his ear. But the majority of the blood was coming from a shot between where Max knew Dan’s bullet-proof vest ended and where his skin was uncovered. The bullet had hit Dan in his upper left arm, shattering upon hitting him and causing burns all up his shirt and residual casing cutting Dan’s face and neck. 

“Sir, you need to move, you’re not safe,” Max was told as someone grabbed him around the waist. Max instantly started shouting and fighting, trying to get his security to let go. He needed to stay with Dan, he needed Dan to be safe and he couldn’t be sure Dan was going to be safe if he didn’t stay with. 

Max knew he probably looked hysteric, fighting and kicking up a storm as he sobbed and tried to push away the arms around his waist, and it would be all the papers tomorrow about how the Prince reacted with his security getting shot. But fuck it. His mum would understand. She knew how important Dan was to him. 

And he was so _fucking_ important. 

Dan was the one member of staff who seemed to treat Max the most normally. He was the one guy that Max had had a crush on since the moment he clapped eyes on him as a thirteen-year-old, back when Dan had a weird haircut and a smile that was too bright for his face. 

He still had that same smile. 

Max loved that smile. He’d do anything to see that smile again. 

The next thing Max was aware of was everything going black. 

\----------

When he woke up next, he was in a hospital room, curled up on a bed surrounded by the echoes of machines beeping. He sat up groggily and wiped his eyes. His face felt sticky. 

“Evening, sir.”

Max looked over to his side and saw his advisor perched on the chair. 

“Where’s Dan?”

The aide didn’t answer, instead they just took in a breath and nodded to the opposite side of the Max. Slowly he turned his head, not wanting to see the sight that would be before him.

“Oh fuck.”

“You wouldn’t leave him,” the aide told Max, “You kept screaming every time they moved you into separate rooms, so they just kept you together.”

“I don’t remember that,” Max murmured. He caught sight of his fingers and nearly threw up. There was something rust coloured under his fingernails. He didn’t want that to be the last bit of Daniel he held.

“You were pretty out of it, you were very incoherent but you were adamant about not leaving him, Sir.”

“Have they told you anything about his state?”

“Trauma to the head, when he went down he hit the right side of his head and that caused swelling along with the bullet hitting his skull and ear on the left side, which is what knocked him out. So the cap is monitoring his brain waves, and they’re hoping it should go down soon, it’s more a precaution to keep an eye on his brain than anything, but that’s doing fine” the aide stood up and walked around, gently moving wires to explain to Max what was happening, “They’ve already done surgery on his shoulder. The bullet nearly shattered his shoulder joint, so they did some magic on that and he’ll need physio when he wakes up. With it being his left side, he’ll still be able to support you in your Royal Tour, Sir, he’s a right handed shooter.”

“When,” Max picked up on, “you said when he wakes up. Not if, the doctors said he’ll wake up?”

“They’re expecting a full recovery, Sir.”

Max let out a sob that had been building up for a while at that point, the relief coursing through him at the idea that Dan would be okay. 

“You’re sure?”

The aide nodded, 

“I know medicine, Sir. And I know the surgeon. She’s very good. She won’t let anything happen to Dan.”

Max rubbed his eyes again and then dropped back onto the bed. Slowly his eyes grew heavier and he was able to tell his aide before passing out,

“Wake me when he wakes up.”

“Of course, Sir.” 

The aide looked at the two of them with a fond smile, the last thing Max saw before his world went dark again. But this time, he felt relief. He felt okay. Dan was going to be okay.

\----------

“And he’s completely okay? No lasting damage, no injuries?”

“Probably some PTSD, he didn’t react very well to you dying on him, but no. He didn’t get hurt.”

“Is that a problem?”

“He cares about you, and frankly, there’s worse people he could be infatuated with.”

“Mamma?” Max muttered, interrupting the conversation in the room as he woke up, rubbing his eyes and struggling to straighten up. 

“Stay still, kindje, you’re okay,” his mum replied, settling on the side of Max’s bed and running her fingers through his hair much like she used to do when he was a little boy and he’d come into her late at night, crying from another nightmare. 

“Mamma, is Dan oke?” He asked, falling into his native Dutch.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Sir,” Dan’s hoarse voice piped up. 

Max shot up, his room spinning violently at the movement, and he felt his mum steady him by his shoulders. 

“You got shot,” Max couldn’t see Dan properly with the way his world was spinning and his vision blurred but he’d still tell him off. 

“And you didn’t.”

“It’s my fault,” Max cried, finally able to look over at Dan and see him lying there, see those beautiful eyes open and looking at him, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Dan, I was acting like a Grade-A prick, I didn’t mean to get you hurt.”

Dan shifted up on the bed, pushing his weight onto his right side and turning to face Max properly to motion him over. Max swung his legs off the bed and stumbled over to Dan’s side. 

He bracketed Dan’s face with his hands and properly looked at the damage, seeing the harsh purple bruising and cuts all over his beautiful face. There was a swelling on the side of his temple and there was padding and bandages over it to help lessen the risk of an infection getting into the wounds. But he was still the most beautiful man Max had ever laid eyes on. Even with his curls sticking up and making his hair look funny. 

Gently, he pressed his lips against Dan’s, just a light brushing to almost gauge his reaction. When Dan’s lips moved slowly against Max’s, he almost wanted to cry. Dan’s hands were gently holding Max’s ribs, the feel of Dan’s stubble rubbing against his lips. Max pulled away slightly, taking a moment to restart his heart as his brain caught up with the knowledge that he was finally getting to kiss Dan, before diving in again, bolder, with more force, not wanting to let go of the feeling. Finally getting to feel what Dan’s lips tasted like, how soft his lips were. This wasn’t a dream. This was Max’s reality. 

“I’ve wanted to do that since I first met you,” Max whispered.

“I’m so glad you didn’t kiss me when you were 13, it would’ve ended very badly, Sir,” Dan replied staring dramatically into the distance, which caused Max to immediately roll his eyes and smack Dan’s good arm. 

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you did mean that. I don’t blame you. I’m adorable.”

“You’re going to get smothered if you’re not careful.”

Dan laughed slightly before letting way to a groan of pain. 

“Right, think that’s enough sitting up,” He told Max, gently letting go so he could shift back to laying on the bed. Max got up to help him, knowing that Dan was likely to put weight onto his left side without thinking and probably cause more damage to his wound. 

“C’mon handsome, lay down with me. It’s the only way I can keep you safe if I keep hold of you,” Dan motioned for Max to climb in beside him and when Max hesitated, he reached forward and pulled on his hand. 

Gingerly, Max slid onto the bed beside Dan and rest his head against the pillow. Dan shuffled down slightly to be at the same level as Max, giving Max the opportunity to cast his gaze over Dan’s beautiful being and stare at those beautiful eyes. 

“Let me court you, properly,” Max whispered, “I’ll wine you and dine you and make you the prettiest prince in the land.”

Dan laughed, his eyes shining with mirth. 

“I’m a lucky boy, ‘ey?” Dan whispered, pressing his lips against Max’s, “My pretty prince.”

“You have the Palace’s blessing, Max,” his mother’s voice interrupted the two, causing Max to fly backwards and nearly fall off the bed, both had forgotten the Queen had been present. Dan quickly reached out to steady him, wincing in pain, having reached out and grabbed Max with his left arm. 

“Daniel, please be careful. You’re a future consort to the crown now, we can’t have you getting injured again,” the Queen spoke, staring at Dan but Max could see the happiness in her eyes.

“I can really have him? Ik kan echt van hem houden?”

“Ja schat, je kunt gelukkig zijn,” the Queen told him, coming up to Max and running her fingers through his hair. 

Max’s eyes brimmed with tears, pushed himself off Dan, wrapping himself around his mum and trying to stop the tears from falling. 

“Dank je, Mamma, dank je,” Max whispered over and over.

The Queen pulled back, brushed a kiss over Max’s forehead and leant into Dan. 

“Take care of my Prince, Daniel.”

“Of course, ma’am, I always will,” Dan promised, “I’d do nothing less.”

“Mamma,” Max whined, feeling like a little boy again being handed over to Dan to be watched every day. 

The Queen smiled at Max, ruffled his hair (which Max pouted at and quickly tried to readjust), pressed kisses to both of their cheeks and followed her security out of the room, leaving Max and Dan alone, truly for the first time. 

“Are you sure about this, Sir?” Dan whispered, not wanting to speak any louder incase it broke some sort of spell, something that was holding the serenity and the peace and the beauty of the moment. 

“If I’m going to court you properly, I don’t want you to call me ‘Sir’ anymore, it’s weird,” Max told him, which made Dan laugh, “But in answer to your question, yes, I am sure. I’ve wanted you for years, I don’t want to risk losing you now. You died on me, Daniel, I’ve lost you once, I don’t want to lose you twice.”

“You won’t, Sir.”

“Max.”

“You won’t, _Max_, you won’t lose me.” Dan grinned at Max, “God that feels weird calling you Max, I feel like I’m going to get killed for not using protocol.”

“Please don’t talk about getting killed,” Dan watched Max’s eyes pool with tears, “I don’t care how many people I have to fight, I’m keeping you and all your life together.”

As carefully as he could manage, Dan shifted forward and tilted Max’s chin up, bringing their lips together and reminding the boy in his arms that he was alive. That he was still here. That he was going to stay here for a while longer. 

“I want to start again, I want us to have a new start,” Max murmured against Dan’s lips.

“What do you mean?”

“Hi, my name is Max. I’m the Prince of Belgium, and I really fucking like your face.”

Dan laughed, making Max grin. 

“Hi Max, my name is Dan. I’m the Head of Security for the dickhead Prince of Belgium, and I really fucking like your face too.”

Max squawked a protest at Dan’s words, punching his leg slightly. Dan only laughed harder. 

“You may be a dickhead, but you’re my dickhead, my Prince.”

Max blushed at Dan’s words, and then blushed harder when Dan ran his fingers over Max’s cheeks. 

“You’re beautiful, I’ll never get over how pretty your eyes are.”

“You can tell the world’s media just how pretty you think I am. I’m sure there’s pictures all over of my reaction to you dying on me, the Palace will want me to release a statement, and if you want this, we can use it as a chance to tell the world about us.”

“I’ll do whatever you want, I just want you,” Dan told him as he lifted Max’s hands and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. 

Max dropped his head to rest on the pillow next to Dan’s and wrapped his arm around his midsection. 

“This doesn’t hurt, right?”

“Nah, you’re alright, Maxy. You just stay right there, mate.”

Dan shifted slightly, adjusting himself so that he could cradle Max to his chest. Dan watched as Max’s eyes gradually fell shut and his breathing evened out, but the protective hold he had on Dan never once weakened. Part of Dan wondered what he was getting himself into. Looking after the Prince of Belgium was going to be very different to dating the Prince of Belgium, and whilst that did kind of terrify Dan, the idea of being able to hold Max, to kiss him, to hug him when he’s sad, to comfort him when he has nightmares and to just be able to hold his hand and not give a fuck about protocol or whether someone was going to call him out just because he wanted to protect Max. 

\----------

In the end, it wasn’t a public statement. It wasn’t kissing in front of the palace. It wasn’t anything fancy. 

It was just a post on Max’s Instagram (approved by the royal media correspondence but Max still chose wait to say and post so Dan saw that as a minor win). 

It was easy, simple even. Just a post of their hands linked, Dan’s hand tattoos on show and Max’s royal insignia bracelets, their fingers intertwined, with the caption

_We’ve got chance to make a lot of history, mijn geliefde, I can’t wait_

And when Max went on his royal tour, getting to visit the Red Bull racing team again, he took Dan with him again, their hands linked and a happy grin on his face. And when this time, Dan didn’t get shot and instead they got to have fun playing on bmx bikes, it was one of the best experiences of Max’s life, and he never planned on letting go.

**Author's Note:**

> Lowkey wanna write more of Prince Max and Bodyguard / Consort Daniel, I just have this urge and yet I know nothing about the Belgium royal family other than a quick 2 second wikipedia browse.
> 
> Mamma - Mom  
kindje - baby  
Mamma, is Dan oke? - Mom is Dan okay?  
Ik kan echt van hem houden? - I can really love him?  
Ja schat, je kunt gelukkig zijn. - Yes, honey, you can be happy.  
Dank je, Mamma, dank je - Thank you, mom, thank you
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it my pals :)
> 
> Drop us a comment, let me know what you think, I’d love to hear from you! Any and all feedback is welcome, and kudos make a dude happy :)


End file.
